This invention generally relates to the art of dispensers and, particularly, to a dispenser for fluid or liquid products.
A variety of dispensers have been designed for manually handling dling and feeding fluid or liquid products in restaurants or the like. For instance, dispensers are used for feeding viscous condiments such as ketchup, mustard or similar sauces onto food items such as hamburger bread rolls or the like.
In large volume food handling operations such as fast-food restaurants and/or drive-in restaurants, condiments such as ketchup or mustard typically are applied to food products such as hamburgers prior to the sale of the hamburgers to customers. In such instances, it is important and desirable that the condiments be applied in uniform quantities and predetermined patterns to maintain a uniformity in the taste of the food product as well as to maintain cost parameters. With a hamburger, for instance, condiments originally were applied by one dispenser containing ketchup and a second dispenser containing mustard. Unfortunately, the use of multiple dispensers is not cost effective and slows down processing the food products in high volume food handling operations.
Because of these problems, dual dispensers have been designed for dispensing at least two different condiments using a single dispenser. In at least one instance, a dispenser has been designed to dispense two condiments either separately or together. Unfortunately, such dispensers create further problems because they must be manipulated or adjusted in order to change the dispensing mode. The present invention is directed to solving these problems by providing a dual liquid dispenser for dispensing either one or both of two liquid products without any adjustments whatsoever to the dispenser when dispensing in the different modes.
An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a new and improved liquid dispenser for dispensing either one or both of two liquid products.
In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the dispenser includes housing means defining first and second liquid reservoirs with respective first and second discharge outlets. First and second pump assemblies are provided respectively in the first and second liquid reservoirs for incrementally feeding first and second liquid products, respectively, out of the first and second discharge outlets. A first operating lever is articulatably mounted on the housing means and is operatively associated with the first pump assembly to feed the first liquid product out of the first discharge outlet. A second operating lever is articulatably mounted on the housing means and is operatively associated with the second pump assembly to feed the second liquid product out of the second discharge outlet. The second operating lever is selectively operatively associated with the first operating lever to feed both food products out of both discharge outlets.
As disclosed herein, the first and second liquid reservoirs are located in a side-by-side relationship on the housing means. The first and second discharge outlets are located in a common discharge area of the housing means. The first and second operating levers are operatively associated with the first and second pump means, respectively, by elongated pistons in the respective liquid reservoirs. The second operating lever is selectively operatively associated with the first operating lever by selective engagement therewith.
According to a specific aspect of the invention, the first operating lever is pivotally mounted to the housing means at one end thereof, with an opposite end thereof being located for manual manipulation by an operator. Both opposite ends of the second operating lever are articulatably mounted on the housing means, with the second operating lever being operatively associated with the second pump means at a point intermediate opposite ends of the second operating lever. Therefore, movement of either opposite end of the second operating lever is effective to actuate the second pump assembly. However, only one end of the second operating lever is effective to pivot the first operating lever.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.